Vol. 445 No. 6
92 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the steps, if any, he is taking to ensure the ratification and implementation of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [701/94]
The Agreements embodying the results of the Uruguay Round are due to come into effect on 1 January next. The texts have been laid before the House and I am arranging for a motion approving them to be submitted shortly. I am confident that, with the co-operation of all the parties in the House, this approval will be forthcoming without delay. Following Dáil approval, the Government will arrange to have the necessary instruments of ratification of the Agreements by Ireland deposited by the deadline of 1 January.
The Agreements must also be ratified by the European Union, since external trade policy is in general the responsibility of the Union rather than of its member states. The European Court of Justice has been asked by the Commission to rule on the issue of whether, under the Treaties, the Union or the member states are responsible for certain new trade areas covered by the Uruguay Round Agreements, such as services. As the Court has recently indicated that it will deliver its judgment before mid-November, this should provide sufficient time to complete the process of Union ratification by the deadline of 1 January.
Most, if not all, of the trade liberalisation commitments agreed in the Uruguay Round will be implemented within the European Union by means of Union measures binding on all member states. The necessary legislative package to implement the liberalisation measures which come into effect on 1 January next was presented by the Commission on 6 October and is at present being examined by member states. It is expected that the Council of Ministers will have approved the package in time for the 1 January deadline.
